


they don't love you like I love you

by cooliopio



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Pets, Soft Boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23745370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cooliopio/pseuds/cooliopio
Summary: Dex is hiding a cat in his bungalow, and nobody can know about it.Not that they’d make him give up his cat, thank you very much, he just doesn’t want to share Mister Gumbo. Mister Gumbo, that is, being Dex’s cat. Gummy for short.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Comments: 3
Kudos: 127





	they don't love you like I love you

**Author's Note:**

> No TW's this time, just a cute little fic!  
> There is some dildo banter though. just hockey boys being hockey boys. thats the sole reason its rated teen. And language i guess.

Dex is hiding a cat in his bungalow, and nobody can know about it.

Not that they’d make him give up _his_ cat, thank you very much, he just doesn’t want to share Mister Gumbo. Mister Gumbo, that is, being Dex’s cat. Gummy for short.

Look, he didn’t _mean_ to end up with a cat in the Haus! But you try walking past the murder Stop n’ Shop on a cold, rainy evening, a tiny orange kitten without it’s mama that can’t possibly be more than 6 weeks old, meowing like crazy because it’s hungry.

Exactly. You can’t.

So Dex has a cat now. And his name is Mister Gumbo. Gummy for short.

Getting the cat to the basement bungalow itself wasn’t that much of an issue. Mister Gumbo (Gummy for short) was being held inside of Dex’s Samwell red windbreaker, curled up and sleeping against the soft flannel draped across his chest. The purring was really cute. And the tiny whistles Gummy’s nose made on the exhale. And, and—

Mister Gumbo is just a really cute cat, alright?

No, see, the problem was getting all of Gummy’s _shit._ The litter and the cat bed and a small cat tree _with_ a scratchboard so he didn’t tear everything apart, a few various non-noise making toys. (He’s trying to be discreet, remember?)

When Dex had finally bit the bullet and invested in a litter box designed to prevent the spread of litter, he underestimated how big it would be. He had been looking at it online, and it is _not_ as compact as he thought it was. So Dex, somehow, had to manage to get this massive purple-and-white _thing_ through the Haus and to the basement—which meant passing both the living room and kitchen, both perpetually occupied by Bitty, Ollie, Wicky, Nurse and various frogs. If only he could manage to get it in hid tiny-ass 2004 impala. He’s a sensible man, and it’s a sensible car, alright?

Dex’s primary fault was doing this when he hadn’t planned around his Hausmates’ schedules. Why couldn’t he have picked a Saturday, with Bitty in Providence with Jack, Nursey fucked off somewhere with his English friends at some pretentious open mic, and Ollie and Wicky probably having a fuckton of sex in the attic the rest of the Haus is oblivious to? Because Dex is a fool in men’s clothing. That’s why.

So Dex found himself, comically large box precariously carried in front of him, ready to book it to the basement on a Wednesday evening. Like, you know, a dumbass?

He had to kick the door open, as he couldn’t really see where he was going, and made a _little_ too much noise in the process, alerting, unfavorably, the entire fucking Haus.

“Yooooo Dex, what the _fuck_ is in that box?” Nursey chided from the living room; his chill persona tinted with amusement.

Dex scoffed, “None of your business, Nurse.”

“Chill, don’t have to be so defensive about it,” Nursey bickered.

“Bro,” Ollie snorted, “Can’t a bro take his extra-large Bad Dragon dildo to his basement in peace?”

“Ah,” Nursey sighed, full of faux-understanding, “I see, I see. Tell Flint I said hi, Dex!”

Ollie punched Nursey on the shoulder, “Dude, how the fuck do you know the names of Bad Dragon dildo models?”

Only for Nursey to reply, “How do _you_ know the names of Bad Dragon dildo models?”

Ollie snorted and raised his arms in surrender.

Grateful for the distraction, Dex made his way to the basement.

Dex, from then on, does not bring large boxes into the Haus anymore.

But it’s fine! Mister Gumbo—Gummy for short—is really happy in the bungalow. Dex even has a little harness and leash and he sneaks him out for walks every now in again so the leash and harness could get some use. He only has them because Mister Gumbo had to be taken to the vet for shots and to be microchipped and he didn’t want to force Gummy into a carrier. Also, where the fuck would he keep a cat carrier? Anyway, turns out Mister Gumbo is a girl, but Dex keeps referring to him as Mister Gumbo and with male pronouns because its 2017 and fuck gender anyways.

Mister Gumbo has been happily living in the Haus for, like, four months at this point, and no one has noticed.

But now, present day, Dex is in a little bit of a predicament.

He wants to keep Mister Gumbo a secret, but, ah, Dex has found himself a new beau. The new beau is none other than his D-Man, Derek Malik Nurse. Nursey for short.

Look—he thought he hated the guy too, okay? What, with his fake-chill attitude and English-elitism. But the way Nursey’s skin shined under the moonlight one fated late-night d-man bonding talk, eyes shyly averted as he spilled some of his deepest secrets; how Nursey whispered soft _“thank you”_ -s into Dex’s ear, breath warm against his neck as he carried a too-drunk Nursey up to their formerly-shared room; how he always brought Dex coffee (black, no cream, two sugars,) from Annie’s when they studied together at Founders late into the night—you’d be an idiot to not fall. And we’ve established that Dex is a fool. Not an idiot.

So, this all culminated in an unbearable amount of pining from Dex, his heart filled to the brim with affection for _Derek_ , and an uncontrollable habit of blushing whenever Nursey entered the room. Which was often, and lead to a lot of chirping. _Hockey Bros._

And one comfortable night, the two of them ended up on the reading room, less than sober-- but maybe only one or two shots of liquid courage rushing through each of them—staring into each other’s eyes, faces inches apart as they laid side-by-side on their backs. It was Nursey who moved first, only to be met in the middle by Dex.

So, yes, Dex has a new beau who _happens_ to be Derek Nurse. And Will is very happy with this development, thanks.

This development also means that Derek has garnered the feeling that he has a right to enter the bungalow without knocking.

“Hey, Babe—” Nursey coos as he flings the door open, only to be stopped dead in his tracks, looking at the floor, staring at, none other, than Mister Gumbo, who is peacefully enjoying his evening serving of wet cat food.

“What the fuck, is that a _cat_?!”

Dex, who was typing away at his desk in the reading nook, working on coding homework, swiveled around in his chair faster than Mister Gumbo gets the zoomies, glaring at Derek.

“Derek, what the _fuck_?!” Dex snarls without heat, “You can’t just barge into my room like this!” his face growing redder, more from embarrassment than anger, swiftly moving to pick up Mister Gumbo in his arms before the cat makes a break for it out the still wide-open door.

“Will, babe, hold on, no, you have a _Cat_?!” Nursey melts, shrinking in on himself to appear smaller, inching towards Mister Gumbo with a tentatively outstretched hand to be sniffed.

Mister Gumbo sticks his nose out to meet Nurseys hand, and the wet tickle elicits a childish giggle from Nursey.

“Yes, now shut the fuck up!” Dex groans, holding Mister Gumbo still so his boyfriend can pet the _exceptionally_ soft cat.

“Babe! How long have you had him? Did you just get him?” Nursey asks in a falsetto.

Dex sighs, “no. I’ve had him for, like, four months.”

“Four _months_?!” Nursey shouts, only to be violently shushed by Dex. “Sorry—why did you hide him for four months?”

“Well,” Dex contemplates, trying to figure out the best way to word it, “I didn’t want the Haus to be a bad influence on him.”

“A bad influence?!” Nursey stutters, aghast, “no! if anything, we’d shape up for this little guy!” Nurse says this in a tone that pronounces his L’s as W’s.

Dex sighs, “really?” His tone does not convey belief or hope. It is sarcastic.

Nursey hums and looks up at Dex, “really!”

“You know, I somehow don’t believe you,” he sighs.

“yeah, yeah, whatever, sexy Dexy, I want to pet your cat,” Nursey says, outstretching his arms, attempting to cue Dex into handing Mister Gumbo over.

“I am not letting you hold Mister Gumbo.”

Nursey laughs, but it’s really more like one sharp intake of breath full of non-belief, “his name is Mister Gumbo?!” Nursey asks with a shout.

“Gummy for short.”

“Oh that is cute as _fuck,_ bro.”

“Der, I am your boyfriend, don’t call me _‘bro.’_ ”

“You can take the boyfriend out of hockey but you can’t take the hockey out of the boyfriend,” Nursey shrugs.

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t!”

Dex gives a shy smile, “I really don’t.”

“Ah dude, that’s gay as fuck. You love me or something?”

Dex sighs, “Yes, we are literally in a gay relationship. With each other.”

Nursey grins, and pokes Dex in his side, teasing, “Awh! You _love_ me?”

Dex sighs, trying to sound annoyed but loses to the admiration he feels, “Shut the fuck up. Do you want to stay here and cuddle my cat and me in my bed while watching Disney plus or not?”

Nursey fist pumps the air, heading for the steps to the top bunk, “oh fuck yes, Poindexter. We’re watching the Disney Channel Original Movie classic _Minute Men_ whether you like it or not!”

Dex lets Mister Gumbo out of his arms to follow Derek up the steps and digs for extra blankets.

“As long as I’m with you, it’ll be alright.”

“That was mega sappy, man,” Nurse teases, love in his tone.

“Yeah,” Dex grunts, heaving blankets to the bed, “It was. But it was true.”

Dex manages to get up eventually, flopping next to Derek, pecking a kiss to his lips.

Derek cuddles closer to Dex and starts the movie on the laptop he set up while Dex fished out blankets.

_Yeah,_ Dex thinks, Nursey cuddled close, Mister Gumbo curled up between them, _maybe it’s worth it for Derek to know about the cat._

“I still wanna show Mister Gumbo the rest of the Haus, though,” Nursey mutters. “Isn’t it cruel to keep him so confined down here?”

“Nurse,” Dex sighs, “Shut the fuck up.”

“But—” Nursey begin to tease, only to be quieted with a kiss. “alright, point proven.”

“we’ll talk about it later,” Dex assures, voice soft.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Nursey replies before settling into the movie and going quiet, comfortable and happy with Dex.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Hold Up by beyonce, i thought it was funny to make a poke at Nursey being jealous of a cat, HAHA!  
> as always, leave a comment andd/or kudos if you enjoyed, it would be much appreciated!  
> and, as always again, this was not proofread so lmk if something is messed up.


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